Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) criticized the National Institutes of Health for allegedly withholding records from lawmakers, claiming that it is holding on to its records more than the likes of the Central Intelligence Agency or the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Paul’s statement was in response to a question on if Dr. Anthony Fauci should be prosecuted in a potential second Trump presidency, as Fauci is set to testify to Congress on Monday. The Kentucky senator said what he would like to see former President Donald Trump provide is access “to all of the records” from the NIH.
“Right now, the NIH is withholding records; they’re withholding records more so than the CIA or the FBI,” Paul said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. “They have completely withheld all records of the decision-making process on whether or not this research was dangerous or gain of function. So I hope Trump will open the books. I hope Trump will say, ‘you can look at everything’ and that my committee will be allowed to investigate this thoroughly because we’ve been hampered by the Biden administration.”
Paul suggested that should Trump aid the investigators speaking with Fauci, it would go “a long way” in winning over voters who want answers on what really happened with the COVID-19 lockdowns and the logic behind enacting them.
When asked if Trump could still win the election despite his recent guilty verdict, Paul reflected that the verdict marked “a sad day in America,” and he added that he is worried about something “bigger than Donald Trump.” He said 50% of people are concerned that the legal system could be used against them due to their political beliefs.
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The testimony from Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, comes after it was revealed that he reviewed no scientific evidence behind the recommendations for masking children or maintaining six-foot social distancing, which he pushed for during the pandemic. This discovery was said by Fauci himself during a closed-door transcribed interview session in January before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Fauci’s congressional hearing will be held by Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), the chairman of the subcommittee. It will mark Fauci’s first public hearing since his retirement in December 2022.
